


Good, Bad, Dirty

by LinksLipsSinkShips



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Anger, Lust, M/M, Tropetastic Tuesday, tropetastic tuesday 16
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-22
Updated: 2017-06-22
Packaged: 2018-11-17 05:46:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11269164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LinksLipsSinkShips/pseuds/LinksLipsSinkShips
Summary: Link's frustrations come to a head... and things get heated.





	Good, Bad, Dirty

**Author's Note:**

> "If you wanna start a fight,  
> you better throw the first punch,  
> make it a good one.  
> If you wanna make it through the night,  
> you better say my name like  
> the good, the bad, and the dirty...
> 
> ...I'm gonna keep getting underneath you,  
> and all of our friends want us to fall in love."
> 
> -The Good, The Bad, and the Dirty by Panic! at the Disco

Link was pacing again. Lately, it didn’t take much to get him going, the strain of projects piling up. The book, the tour, Buddy System, the longer episodes of GMM starting in the fall… all of it was starting to overwhelm him a little bit. As he paced back and forth, Rhett’s eyes followed him around the room.

“Hey, Link, chill out, man… like… just take a break.” Rhett knew this was the wrong choice of words as soon as he saw the rage flash through Link’s eyes. Link wasn’t one for breaks, wasn’t one to slow down all that often, and the suggestion that he do so just frustrated him most days. But on his worst days, it was a bad idea to even mention it.

“Chill out? Chill the fuck out? Are you even invested in any of this at all? Oh, let me meditate on it and trim my bonsai tree and just chill out!” Link waggled his head, throwing his hands into the air, mocking Rhett’s ways of staying calm in the face of stress. “I can’t chill out. You can look at everything happening and tell me to chill out? What the hell, man?”

Rhett left his usual spot at his standing desk and walked over to Link, holding his hands up in surrender.

“Listen, bo, I wasn’t trying to make you mad. I just worry about you getting all worked up and getting yourself sick or hurt or something. I wasn’t saying your stress wasn’t valid, or that you had to use any sort of coping techniques, or that I was handling things the right way either. I just wanted you to feel better.” Rhett’s voice was soft, but it didn’t melt the fury in Link’s eyes. 

“I can’t feel better as long as I feel like I’m the only one taking all of this stuff seriously. For people to consider you the businessman, I’m sure footing a hell of a lot of the work right now!” Link started to turn his back to Rhett, but Rhett stepped around him to make sure they stayed face to face.

“Just because I handle things differently doesn’t mean I take this any less seriously than you do. That was a shitty thing to say, Neal.” Rhett glared, angry that his words weren’t getting through, angry that his friend didn’t seem to want to take care of the stress, but instead was enveloping himself in the frustrations.

“Screw you, Rhett.” Link shoved past, but Rhett grabbed his arm.

“No, you don’t get to say that shit to me. I’m trying to help you, and you just want to sit there and lash out at me, man!” Now Rhett was furious. It was one thing to not want help, but it was another to say stuff like that. Link was pushing for a fight, and, well, now he had one.

Link ripped his arm away from Rhett’s grasp, pushing Rhett backwards. Rhett may have been taller, but there was no doubt who was stronger, and Link held him by the front of his shirt, pushing him hard into the wall. Link’s impressive strength was obvious to anyone who saw him lately, his efforts at the gym clearly paying off in his strong arms and shoulders. It was these strong arms and shoulders that made sure Rhett wasn’t going anywhere as they stared each other down, faces just inches apart. 

His fist was balled up, and Rhett was positive that this was it. This was going to be the first time Link Neal ever threw a punch, the first time Link ever punched Rhett in the face. He braced himself for the impact, not entirely sure that it was undeserved anyway. They’d been overworking and under-sleeping, and while Rhett was taking time for stress release in the form of his favorite layers, Link was continuing to push harder than ever at work and at home. He saw Link pull his arm back, anger, exhaustion, and frustration written all over his face.

Rhett gasped audibly as the punch landed against the wall behind him instead of against his face. Link yelped as his hand made contact, letting go of Rhett’s shirt altogether and grasping his own hand instead. “Freakin’ hell!” Link screamed, tears prickling at his eyes. It was the single most painful thing that had happened to him recently, and not the good kind of pain, either.

“Shit, Link, are you okay?” Rhett was still stunned by what happened, and by the fact that Link hadn’t punched him. With the pain Link was clearly in, Rhett almost wished he had, since it would have been arguably less painful to hit than the solid wall… he reached out, grabbing Link’s hand without bothering to ask if Link minded, despite their argument. “Wow, that looks bad. Like, really bad. Do you want me to drive you to the hospital? It might be broken or something.”

Link didn’t answer. Rhett was inches away from him, inspecting his hand, carefully trying to see if Link’s fingers could move. Link watched him, wide-eyed. Just minutes before he had almost punched his best friend in the face, and now that same best friend was holding his hand, checking for splinters from the wood grain of the wall, gingerly avoiding the bruises that were already appearing so it wouldn’t hurt Link any more than it already did.

“Rhett…” Link opened his mouth, considering accepting that ride to the hospital, but instead he found himself leaning into Rhett, wrapping his free arm around the back of Rhett’s head as he kissed him. Link pulled back as soon as he had placed his lips on Rhett’s, wondering what the heck had gotten into him, but he already knew Rhett wasn’t going to drop it that easily. Rhett looked into Link’s sapphire eyes, a million unsaid words hanging between them. Was it the stress? The years of flirting on the show bubbling to the surface? Their lifetime of interconnected stories and memories and shared life reaching some inevitable point where neither of them could hold off any longer? Link wasn’t sure, but he was pretty certain they were about to find out as Rhett’s lips made a collision course for his own. 

Rhett had incredibly soft lips, probably thanks to all of the peculiarly perfect peanut butter peppermint lip balm that he used religiously, even though he couldn’t say the name of it. Link loved that Rhett used his lip balm, because it meant that Link could imagine what his lips must taste like. It was something he often thought about. At his desk, at night in his bed, in the car as they carpooled to work. Heck, even while filming episodes of Good Mythical Morning, the thought was in the back of his mind. But he wasn’t imagining this time. No, Rhett’s lips really were on his, and before he knew it, it was his own back against the office wall, and there wasn’t any chance of anyone getting hit in the face, at least not with a fist.

Rhett placed his hand behind Link’s head, pulling Link towards him as he dipped his head low into the kiss, his tongue running along Link’s lower lip until he parted his lips, allowing Rhett to explore. Link melted into Rhett, his unharmed hand tugging Rhett closer, a gentle moan escaping from his lips as he got what he wanted, for their bodies to practically become one as they stood against the office wall. Link pulled away, then pressed kisses along Rhett’s neck and collarbones. He started unbuttoning Rhett’s shirt with his good hand as Rhett gently brought his swollen, bruised hand to his lips. Rhett, so carefully planting the softest kisses along Link’s knuckles, was trying hard not to hurt him. Link wouldn’t have minded if it did hurt a little bit. He deserved the pain, embraced it. Almost as if he’d read Link’s mind, Rhett’s kiss pressed just a little bit too hard into a bruise, and Link let out a whimper.

“Oh, fuck, sorry.” Rhett released Link’s hand, choosing instead to tug at the bottom of Link’s shirt with both hands. Link got the hint, and used his good hand to pull his shirt over his head one-handed.

“Oh-ho-ho, aren’t you talented,” Rhett said with a sly wink, as he’d already prepared himself to help Link out of his shirt. He reached out to tickle his friend’s exposed skin. Link slapped his hand away with a snort, then walked Rhett backwards, kissing him every step of the way, until Rhett could feel the couch at the back of his calves.

“Sit down,” Link insisted. Rhett did exactly as he was told, sitting down and gazing up at his best friend, who now had the height advantage. Link ran his fingers through Rhett’s blond hair, tugging ever-so-gently to tilt Rhett’s head back. He placed one knee on each side of Rhett’s hips, pressing Rhett against the back of the couch, kissing him deeply. 

“Now, what was that you said about how there are more opportunities to love on a couch than on a loveseat?” he smirked, his sparkling blue eyes dancing as Rhett stroked his back gently.

“I just meant that… well, there’s more space… but it looks like this is something we could have done on a loveseat, so…” Rhett trailed off, almost daring Link to take this further. Link was onto his game, but giving in didn’t mean letting Rhett win. It meant them both winning this time.

Link trailed kisses down Rhett’s body, slowly backing off of the couch and kneeling on the floor in front of him. He started to try to work at Rhett’s jeans, but his hand was screaming a silent resistance, throbbing and painful.

“Help me out here, baby,” Link commanded gently, still on his knees in front of Rhett.

“Link, are you sure about this?”

“I’ve never been more sure about anything in my life.” He was no longer smiling and joking, but instead his voice was certain. He wanted this. Needed it. Rhett unfastened his jeans, making it clear that he was absolutely certain, too, sliding the waistband down to give Link exactly what they both desired, something that was a long time coming.

Link could see the outline of his friend’s thick shaft through his boxer briefs, and he licked his lips.

“Need some lip balm?” Rhett quipped, his voice shaking with anticipation.

“No, man. My lips aren’t dry. I’m just thinking about how much I want you…” Link smirked, catching the reference, but fully invested in the moment as he used one hand and his teeth to pull the boxer briefs off of Rhett. His good hand stroked as he used his bruised hand to balance his body against the couch. The pain in his hand was reduced to a dull ache in his mind, not because it had stopped hurting, but because this moment was so perfect. He’d spent hours at his desk imagining this, considering taking Rhett into his mouth right there on the couch, his lips wrapping around the tip, planting soft kisses along the length.

In fact, the very thought of it is what got him so riled up, so angry and frustrated earlier. Trying to work on some research for Good Mythical Morning, his mind kept drifting to Rhett, that perfect body, and how that Instagram photo he had recently posted made him just so irresistible. He didn’t even use Instagram anymore, but he kept the notification on to see each selfie his best friend posted, and the Internet couldn’t shut up about how great Rhett looked. The manbun, the way he draped his body on the chair, the certain confidence in his face. He couldn’t focus on research when that picture was fused into his brain, and that’s why he was pacing when Rhett interrupted his thoughts.

None of that seemed to matter now, though. All he cared about was making Rhett come. He alternated using his hand, his mouth, and both, repeating anything that elicited a gasp or moan from his best friend’s lips.

“Fuck, Link, I’m so close,” Rhett moaned, his fingers wound through Link’s locks, quietly begging Link not to stop.

Link took this as a cue to really send Rhett into overdrive, so he gently sucked this deliciously sensitive spot just below the tip, pressing his tongue against it. He pulled his mouth off of it just long enough to run his tongue up the length of it, then blew cool air gently onto the trail of saliva he’d just left. Rhett shivered, giving Link’s hair a gentle tug as encouragement to keep doing what he was doing.

Link’s tongue was relentless against Rhett, his lips willing to devour every inch they could. Rhett growled, wordlessly, pulling Link’s hair as a warning that he was there. Link replaced his lips with his hand, stroking as thick white ropes of come shot out over his friend’s stomach. Link kissed Rhett’s stomach, then licked a little of the salty substance off of his lips.

“Hmm… come and peanut butter… I wonder if that’s a lip balm that would sell…” Link quipped as Rhett pulled him close.

“You’re so weird, bo,” Rhett smiled at his friend, “but that was one hell of an apology for almost hitting me. What has you so worked up lately?”

“You.”

“Oh.”

The two sat there in silence, curled into each other, Rhett’s fingertips tracing Link’s spine. They stayed like that for several minutes before Rhett spoke.

“I love you, Link. I don’t like to see you so upset. I wasn’t trying to make you mad by telling you to blow off some steam…”

“I’m pretty sure it wasn’t steam I was blowing… but I love you, too, Rhett.”

**Author's Note:**

> Shoutout to clemwasjustagirl/shewasjustagirl for beta reading this and helping me break through my concerns about writing smut, and for understanding the lengths I'd go to for good fiction. This wouldn't be here without her listening to me ramble for HOURS about this...


End file.
